Paul Sumpter, Founder and Creative Director of The Futz Butler, was recently profiled in Shots magazine’s On My Radar series, a feature that offers a glimpse into the tastes and thinking of industry leaders shaping the creative world today. From cult documentaries to classic scores, Paul’s selections are a sharp reflection of his ethos: challenge convention, embrace contrast, and never settle for surface-level sound.
We’re always banging the drum for substance over style, and in Paul’s words, the creative process starts well before a single note is written:
“The best musical ideas don’t usually come from sitting at a keyboard — they start from a concept, a tension, a disruption, a reason to exist.”
And what’s been catching Paul’s attention lately? A renewed love for Radiohead’s Kid A, the surreal satire of The Curse on Paramount+, and a dose of offbeat nostalgia via a Channel 4 doc on roadside cafes. But more than just cultural picks, the Shots interview reveals Paul’s broader thinking on sound, silence, and the psychology behind audio that really sticks.
“Silence is often the most powerful sound we have. We use it a lot in our work — not just as a gap, but as a creative decision. It gives shape, breath, and tension to everything around it.”
That approach, deliberately disruptive, but always intentional, is at the core of The Futz Butler’s creative output. It’s also what drives our refusal to chase trends or mimic what’s come before. As Paul points out, this mindset is not without its challenges in an industry often under pressure to play it safe:
“We’re often briefed to make something ‘completely original’ and then given five references. Creativity doesn’t flourish in contradiction — it needs clarity, bravery, and time.”
When asked what he would change about the advertising industry, Paul’s answer was immediate and pointed:
“The absence of meaningful creative risk. Everyone says they want to be brave. Very few actually are. Originality doesn’t come from comfort zones.”
Bringing Clarity to Creative Music Briefs
Whether you’re working on a campaign, brand film or sonic refresh, music has the power to elevate a message or flatten it entirely. Getting it right isn’t just about picking a good track, it’s about making the right emotional connection, in the right way, at the right time.
At The Futz Butler, we’ve seen how difficult this can be, especially when creative teams are under pressure to deliver something bold, original and on-brand, without a clear way to define what that actually sounds like. That challenge is exactly what led us to develop SONAL, our proprietary music briefing methodology.
SONAL was built to bring clarity to a historically subjective process, helping brands and creatives translate emotion, narrative, and intent into sound. By mapping how different musical characteristics make people feel (using data, not guesswork), it gives teams a shared language for discussing music in a way that’s strategic, actionable, and creatively liberating.
Whether you’re looking for something sonically distinctive or want to tap into something more familiar and resonant, SONAL helps you move beyond vague references and subjective preferences, and toward music choices that are as brave as they are effective.
Explore how SONAL helps bridge the gap between creativity and strategy here.
